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Discombobulation
Rhetorical skills are as important today as they were in ancient Rome, except that today, we don’t admit it. In general, in the relationship between those who hold power and the rest of us, there is much that is never admitted. Very much. Business management, for instance, is as much about honing rhetorical skills as…
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The meaning of life
There were a lot of us – young people during the 70s – who struggled with questions of an existential nature. Although a lot of young Western kids are killing themselves these days – overdose and whatnot – questions about the “meaning of life” do not seem to figure in young people’s cognitive equations. What…
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For the pursuit of (whose?) wealth…Part II
Officially, of course, the motif is never greed. When the British Parliament approved a series of “Enclosure Acts” that culminated in the 18th century, they argued that this was for the common good. However, as more and more peasants were denied access to “common land” and had to leave their homes to seek underpaid labour…
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In the pursuit of (whose?) wealth
Tonight I raise my glass to Padre Gregorio Iriarte, although he is no longer with us. He passed away quietly on 11 October 2012, having miraculously managed to reach the age of 87. I say “miraculously”, because he was for many years pursued by the authorities as a dangerous public enemy, and several of his…
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Pelshval?
While I was rebuilding this website after it collapsed like a house of cards a couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that perhaps I should finally explain a thing or two: What is pelshval? Or who? And what is he, she or it doing here? The Norwegian word “pelshval” means furry whale. There…
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Excerpt from a phone call
Interpellant: “… by the way, have you heard about the Greenwood massacre?” Other: “… the Green…?” I: “—wood. 1921” O: “Oh, yes, now I remember! Tulsa, wasn’t it. I saw a horrifying documentary about it about a year ago. Apparently, after the police’s cold-blooded killing of that guy, you know – ‘I can’t breathe” –…